THESE stunning pictures show Scotland’s iconic red squirrels performing incredible feats of acrobatics in their natural habitat.
The photos – taken by 65-year-old amateur photographer Allan Brown – show the squirrels in mid-air as they leap from tree to tree in Tentsmuir Forest in East Fife.
Mr Brown painstakingly snapped the mid-air stunts over the last week – taking 500 shots before capturing the rare red squirrels in these perfectly-timed poses.
The impressive photos show the squirrels frozen in mid-air as they leap across huge spaces between branches in the forest.
In some pictures the squirrels can even be seen flying through the air upside-down – flaunting their daredevil ability.
Mr Brown said: “Until last week the only shots of squirrels I didn’t have were mid-air, so I purposely set out to get these shots.
“Red Squirrels tend to use the same routes through the trees,so it was a case of finding a route and sitting in wait.
“The biggest problem with Reds is their speed, also they are very erratic.It’s impossible to tell exactly when they are going to jump,so I spent hours and probably took about 500 shots to get these.”
In late October the Scottish SPCA and Police Scotland launched an investigation after a red squirrel was found shot in Lockerbie.
Red squirrels are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as a result of their decreasing population.
